This invention relates to electrical connectors, and particularly to electrical connectors used for interconnecting data conveying wires, e.g., telephone data.
A commonly used telephone connector plug comprises a solid block of plastic which has embedded therein wire terminating metal plates having exposed terminal edges. The plug snap fits into a receptacle for electrically engaging the plug terminal edges with corresponding terminal edges exposed within the receptacle. In one connector assembly, a plurality of connector receptacles are disposed side-by-side on a common "bottom" plate (with the connector assembly horizontally oriented) with the receptacles opening upwardly. Wires enter the connector receptacles through bottom openings thereof, and terminals of the wires are fixedly positioned along a side wall of the receptacle cavities.
For protecting the exposed wire terminals within the receptacles against oxidation and other contaminants, one practice is to coat the otherwise exposed terminals with a known sealant material, e.g., a lubricating jelly or a high viscosity silicone gel. When a connector plug is snap fitted into a receptacle, the sealant is squeezed out from between the contacting terminals for obtaining good electrical contacting.
A preferred sealant is the aforementioned silicone gel which is conveniently storable for prolonged periods in the form of two chemically inactive components which, when mixed together, rapidly set-up or cure into a high viscosity gel. Most conveniently, the two gel components are simultaneously poured into the connector receptacles and allowed to set-up therewithin. A problem, however, is that while the resulting gel is of high viscosity and tends to stay within the receptacle adhered to the terminals and receptacle side walls, the components that make up the gel are of low viscosity and would flow outwardly through the receptacle wire receiving bottom openings. The undesirable flow of sealant components through the bottom opening is prevented by sealing the receptacle bottom openings with tape or adhesive foam or the like. The sealing of the bottom opening is generally satisfactory except that the sealing process is expensive because it is time consuming and requires extra sealing materials.
Another problem, also relating to cost, is that until the plugs are inserted into the receptacles, a relatively large open space is present. In order to completely coat the exposed wire terminals, which extend vertically along the walls of the receptacle cavities, the cavities are completely filled with the gel components. Such components are relatively expensive. The gel components fully cover the terminals and, after curing, effectively encapsulate them. But such encapsulation requires only a relatively thin coating, hence most of the cured gel within the receptacle cavity serves no useful purpose and is basically wasted.